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Reviews
Westfront 1918: Vier von der Infanterie (1930)
Can there be a civilized war?
My husband and I just finished seeing this movie. We hadn't heard of it before. We were quite impressed. It's an old movie. It was made just at that time when overacted stage conventions were being abandoned for the more subtle gestures of film. Taking that into account, this movie for us packed quite a wallop.
This is a movie about people attempting to fight a war as a group of small-towners who get to know each other and build a society as they go. Although they don't like the war, they are willing to go and do their part. But can these deep relationships endure in the face of an impersonal war machine? And whose fault is it if they can't? Who is responsible for the situation?
There's a fairly slow start, during which the movie establishes relationships, etc. Then there is a decisive battle. Somehow there isn't another trench warfare movie I can think of which really gets the nuances and habits of the people who were in the trenches in World War I, on either side. We don't have anything like it now. And yet it's not gruesome, so don't be worried about that. I'd definitely recommend this movie, especially in mid-2006 in the U.S. This movie asks all the right questions, subtly but effectively.
Cutthroat Island (1995)
Swashes and Buckles Ahoy!
I loved this movie! Unbelievable Geena Davis does her own stunts, and the movie zooms along at a fast clip from start to finish. Great love story, lots of ego gratification for ladies as Geena is the lead pirate in a pirate ship. Great cast! Great location! Great stunts! Great story! Hurray!
She rides horses and carriages! She swings from ropes! She swims! She swordfights high up in the ship's rigging with her mad and very evil uncle, played by none less than Frank Langella, in one of his most eeeevvvviiiillll roles. Great laughs, great fun, great scares, great thrills!
And a grand pirate treasure to boot!
This is not a flop. This is a sleeper. Go see it and be entertained!
Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
Great Story Artistically Done
What a change from the book! The book was a memoir of the author's renovation of an old Italian country house and orchards, Bramasole, which was purchased by the American author after her divorce. It's a great description of the house and its characteristics. Even some of the people she meets are also present in the movie. But the book is ostensibly real, while the movie is a lush fantasy of people living in the setting the book's author has created for us.
The movie's writer/director has given us a fanciful story that, while improbable, is just believable enough to be fun to watch. The movie takes place in an Italian house named, oddly enough, Bramasole. It contains what I would term "economical goodness." Each scene includes just enough action to be satisfying, and at the same time, enough detail to create a real sense of time and place.
The movie's performances are nuanced and full. The photography and editing are masterful. This is a movie you can view more than once. My husband and I viewed it tonight as a pick- me- up from a difficult week. We're now extremely mellow. Purr.